En mördares självbiografi

by Carl Panzram

”En mördares självbiografi” är den sanna historien om Carl Panzram (1891-1930), en av kriminalhistoriens mest nattsvarta och skrämmande gestalter. Orden i denna bok är Panzrams egna, oförfalskade och nakna i all dess brutala råhet. Men vi skulle inte ha fått veta något om hans livshistoria om det inte varit för en ung fängelsevakt vid namn Henry Lesser. Han lärde känna Panzram 1928, som då satt fängslad i Washington för ett inbrott – dock skulle det visa sig att inbrott var det ringaste av Panzrams alla missgärningar. Lesser fascinerades av den muskulöse, tatuerade fången som hatade allt och alla. De två männen kom varandra närmare och formade något som liknade vänskap – Lesser var den ende som Panzram inte ville ha ihjäl. Den unge vakten insåg snart att Panzram hade en historia att berätta, och bad honom att skriva ner den. Lesser försåg Panzram med papper och penna och smugglade sedan ut hans redogörelser ur fängelset. Det som följde var ett chockerande dokument, ett slags bekännelse, om en monstruös men samtidigt ovanligt klarsynt man, fullt medveten om sina handlingar. ”Under min levnad har jag mördat 21 människor, jag har begått tusentals inbrott, rån, stölder, mordbränder och sist men inte minst har jag begått sodomi på mer än 1000 män. Alla dessa ting ångrar jag inte ett dugg. Jag har inget samvete så det oroar mig inte. Jag tror inte på människan, Gud eller Djävulen. Jag hatar hela den förbannade mänskligheten inklusive mig själv.”Panzrams livshistoria publicerades inte förrän fyrtio år senare, under titeln Killer: A Journal of Murder (1970), som 1995 filmatiserades med James Woods i rollen som Panzram.Nu publiceras den sanna historien om Carl Panzram, med hans egna ord, för första gången på svenska, översatt och kommenterad av Jonas Wessel.

Genres: Psychology, Biography, Nonfiction, True Crime, History, Autobiography, Memoir

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

From Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Pa...

Carl Panzram was an American serial killer, rapist, arsonist, robber and burglar. In prison confessions and his autobiography, he claimed to have committed 21 murders, most of which could not be corroborated, and over 1,000 sodomies of boys and men. After a series of imprisonments and escapes, he was executed in 1930 for the murder of a prison employee at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just found this thanks to Miss India LaPlace...whee dawggie (style), this was a raw slice of nasty.

What kind of life could someone expect this man to have? It was a terrible time to be poor.




Like it ain't right now. 45's Murrukuh keeps the losing streak alive. Panzram's great-grands are in the same places he haunted now.

The PDF of the typescript of this shocker is here.

[India · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good lord. I heard about this book from 'The Last Podcast on the Left' episodes on Carl Panzram. I was happy to see there was a link to the book on the GR page for the book. Panzram was encouraged by a guard that he befriended in prison to write about his story. He's a fairly decent writer. Very straight forward, very unapologetic/unrepentant for all of the things that he did. His story is crazy. It's sort of sad because it seems like he just started out as a mischievous, semi-violent little boy (as many little boys kind of naturally are, some of his behavior even reminds me of my brother) and was sent away to people who beat the humanity out of him. Or maybe he never had any in him and I'm just looking for it.

Anyway. I thought his story was interesting. If you feel compelled, check it out.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve ever wanted to visit the darkest most depraved depths of humanity, this book is for you...

[Eto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus Christ. It's hard to know what to believe in all of this. Some of it seems so far-fetched, yet given Panzram's crimes, maybe it's not. Panzram, himself, describes how he used people's gullibility about Christianity's redemptive ability to deceive them into believing his lies, so perhaps he's not a reliabke narrator of his own life. However, he had nothing to lose or gain in recounting his story.

In any event, it's hard not to feel sympathy for Panzram as he recounts all the various ways he was tortured as a child. That is, until he starts listing all of his crimes. Then it becomes clear that monsters beget monsters and I find myself having a hard time refuting his lament that he didn't get to murder the entire human race.

Panzram wants us to believe that he is absolved of all guilt because of what he endured. He learned early on that "might makes right." He spent a good portion of his life proving that. Yet the most vexing experience he encountered was the jail warden who did not treat him like an animal, did not beat him, but showed him respect and treated him with dignity. Panzram's confusion is apparent and, for a time, he acted like a human being in return. Until he didn't. Then it becomes clear that there is no redemption for a sociopath. You do not redeem wild animals. You put them down.

A challenging, fascinating, and terrifying look into the mind of a beast.

[Elvin Pecenkovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting biography of a man who was a victim of a poor environment.

I believe you don't even have to be born sick to do the things he has done after you've gone through the same treatment as he did.

Great testament to human evil, depravity and it's origins.

[نجيب · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scary scary perspective

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for a project and it's a fascinating read. It's hard to really understand that all of this happened. I actually at something in this and then questioned all of my decisions.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend reading the confession within the context of the prison system at the time as detailed in the excellent 1970 book Killer: A Journal of Murder by Gaddis and Long. This is simply a photocopy of the San Diego State University collection of Panzram’s writings, donated by prison guard Henry Lesser. Panzram was, as Dr. Karl Menninger put it, the logical product of the American prison system.

[Moe · Rating 1 out of 5]

This mofo is crazy!

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Into the mind of a sodomist and serial murderer (and, in his own words, what he believes made him that way). Worth a read if you can stomach it.

[TheDude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal book, but gives good insight to why some people want to see the world burn

[Mr David Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a piece of writing it is rough, as an insight into the mind of someone like this it is both fascinating and disturbing.

[Rida · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel for the boy who went through hell but in all honesty how was he any different than men who did this to him? Yes I see that he might have been reformable, IF he had any remorse for his actions but he clearly did not and he knew rhat reality about himself.

On another note though, the kind of existence he led can very much be blamed on the reformatory schools, penitentiories, prisons and all those who tortured him.

Kill them or put them to work. And nothing else. And there was indeed plenty else done to him. It's observable how the prisons actions influenced his own idea of how life is supposed to be lived. I do see that he had never been met with kindness and that's what he acted like with other innocent people. It's that thing again, when you act like your abusers, you become them and you feel like you finally have power. Although being that way did infact NOT save Panzram from suffering so what was the point right.

This thing about humanitarians working for the waiver of death penalty and Panzrams wish to kill them, Panzram could see what these activists could not, it was too late for him and he was a menace to society at that point or the society was a menace . . I can't decide. He chose the wrong side though.

[Joseph Knecht · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carl started as we all start, as an innocent young boy, but turned into a monster. Based on his writing, the fault was not only his, but the people around him also made him a monster. He was just a little more cruel and vicious than them. He starts the book by saying that if his writing doesn't destroy the fate in human beings than nothing will. I still have faith.

I would not recommend this book...


- If after reading your faith in human nature isn't all destroyed. then it never will be.

-I don't believe in man, God,.nor devil. I hate the whole darned human race "including myself.

-I have lived 36 years in this world and Boon I expect to leave it. All that I leave behind me is smoke, death, desolation and damnation.

I am sorry for only two things. These two things are: I am sorry that I have mistreated some few animals in my lifetime and I am sorry that I am unable to murder the whole darned human race.

[Emmanuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carl's whole life was dedicated to sowing misery and destruction wherever he went. He travelled the US setting fire to whatever he could, bumming men and boys, and murdering constantly. It's amazing how many times he went to prison, and how many times he was able to escape, or was released, only to carry on his vicious lifestyle, relatively unimpeded.

His disregard for the human race was unparalleled and it was built on a foundation of his own brutal, and constant suffering from a young age, well into his older years. Every school or prison he went to he was treated poorly at least and tortured at worst, and being the type of person to fight back every time, he became the master of fighting back, until he was out to get revenge on the whole world.

You can hear the whole story laid out the way I did, from The Last Podcast on the Left's three part podcast. Great podcast; I read this whole autobiography in Henry's Snake Plissken voice.

[Nijhia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a short read, a bit hard due to the way it was written in its original format. The book told of a really gruesome story filled with both abandonment, abuse and terrible living conditions. These things ruined him as a person, ruined him mentally and physically. He continued to do crimes, not give a crap because it is what he wanted to do. He was actually an extremely oppressed to the point that even the threat of crime, jail and abuse did nothing to detour him from his motives. I can tell that he was a very lost person, it is hard not to feel bad for him with the way his life went even though the murders were terrible.

If he felt he had enough, it was enough. It was a interesting read, especially if you want to delve into the mind of a person who was ruined by humanity.

[Chillmira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This autobiography shows you exactly how Carl Panzram thought and why he did what he did. Even though his actions are inexcusable it lets you understand more about the mind of a serial killer who also committed more than 1000 acts of sodomy. I would highly recommend this book to anybody who is interested in psychology.

[Fey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got some information from this book on Carl that I hadn’t known before but this book is really just a compilation of a serial killers narcissist thoughts. He claims he hates himself but spends dozens of pages boasting about how superior he is to the rest of human kind.

[Simon Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Messed up.

[Egor · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is sad to see what cruel life can do to a man

[L2p · Rating 5 out of 5]

Likeable dude.

I'm just kidding. Although I certainly could see how someone, or anyone for that matter, would behave in a similar way to him given enough resentment and practise.

[olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have no words, maybe foul.

[maryam · Rating 3 out of 5]

i will never be the same again

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

A chilling firsthand account that reads like a twisted American novel, it captures the essence of a particular time in history while recounting the brutal actions of a deeply troubled and sadistic individual.

[Jono · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jesus fucking Christ.. Reflexive and lucid

[Isak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting start but later not as much. I rarely skip pages but did in the late stage of this book since it felt very repeated